Pressure mounting for anti-vaxxers
Paris: A growing number of countries and territories around the world are forcing people, often in specific sectors, to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Ex- Soviet Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, along with the Vatican, are among the rare countries imposing vaccinations on all adults.
In Tajikistan, the official news agency has published a government decree obliging all citizens over age 18 to be vaccinated, without giving further details.
Turkmenistan, one of the few countries yet to declare a single case, has announced that it will introduce mandatory vaccinations for all adults.
In the Vatican, the world’s smallest state, vaccinations were made obligatory for residents and workers in February.
Several countries or territories have imposed vaccinations on certain sections of the population.
In France, healthcare staff, retirement home workers and others working with vulnerable people have until Sept 15 to get vaccinated.
The use of a health pass and restricting access to long distance travel to the vaccinated or those with a negative test, piles on the pressure to be jabbed.
In Greece, vaccination for health workers in both the public and private sectors will become mandatory from Sept 1.
In Italy, doctors and healthcare workers in the public and private sector must get vaccinated or face being banned from working directly with patients.
All care home staff in England will need to be fully vaccinated from October unless they have a medical exemption.
In Russia, the mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin has ordered mandatory jabs for residents of the
Russian capital working in the service industry. Other places have taken similar measures, including Saint Petersburg.
Kazakhstan has ordered workers in various sectors to be vaccinated or be restricted from working faceto-face with others.
In Fiji, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has issued a blunt message: “No jabs, no job.”
Fiji’s public servants will be dismissed if they have not received their second shot by Nov 1 and private sector employees must have their first by Aug 1 or face hefty fines. Companies could also be shut down.
Vaccination has been compulsory in Equatorial Guinea since July 20 for some sectors, including the military, health workers and teachers.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said vaccination will become compulsory for caregivers, without giving further details.
US President Joe Biden stopped short of a vaccination mandate for federal workers but on July 29 marked a dramatic return to virus restrictions.
The Saudi Arabia government said anyone using public transport or entering a government or private establishment or sports venue must be vaccinated from Aug 1. The southern Pakistani province of Balochistan has banned unvaccinated people from entering government offices, public parks, shopping malls and public transport.
The province of Sindh says it will refuse to pay government employees who have not been vaccinated, and neighbouring Punjab has said it will block the mobile phones of people refusing to get jabs.
In China, some 20 local communities including the city of Chuxiong in Yunnan province have warned that unvaccinated residents over the age of 18 will soon no longer be admitted to hospitals, schools or on public transport.